The Peninsula Foundation supports the Arts Community by presenting Voices in the Valley, a showcase of traditional roots music. So kick back, relax and join us for a night of music in the Historic G.A.R. Hall. Beer, Wine and adult beverages available.
Parking for the G.A.R. Hall is located directly across the street on the South West Corner of Route 303 and Riverview Road. There is handicap parking located directly in front of the G.A.R. Hall. Alternate Parking can be found 1 block away at the old Yellow Creek Trading Company. Or at Riverview Court (old Ohio Hardwoods) on the Southeast Corner of the intersection of Route 303 and Riverview Road. Parking in Peninsula is always at a premium so if you are coming with friends, consider sharing a ride. Thanks!
If you are looking for a way to sponsor the arts, please consider helping support the Voices in the Valley music program at the historic G.A.R. Hall. Operated by the Peninsula Foundation, this program features local and national touring musicians in the intimate setting of this beautiful, grand old hall. Your donation is tax deductible and very much appreciated. Thank you in advance for supporting the arts and arts programming in N.E. Ohio!!
The Bluegrass Gospel Hour at the Bronson Church
RETURNS on January 28th!
Hosts Paul Kovac and David Mayfield play some of your favorite Bluegrass gospel tunes mixed with some fun banter! This is not a church service, rather a meeting of the Bluegrass faithful looking to enjoy some fellowship with two of the area's favorite pickers!
Excited to begin presenting this fun series again. Hope to see you at the Bronson Church!
General Admission - $10
Doors open at 10:30. Music starts at 11!
Purchase tickets on Eventbrite!
G.A.R. Grass Jam
Join us the first Tuesday of the month from 7-9
The Next Grass Jam is May 14th
Grass Jam is BACK! Paul Kovac and David Mayfield will be your hosts. All ages and skill levels are welcome and encouraged. We have 3-5 separate break out rooms so you can pick your jam. You are welcome to bring your own food to munch on, the bar will be open.
$5 donation at the door
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A unique folk duo that interweaves age-old music form and traditions with original modern compositions. A soundscape both familiar and new.
May 1st- Mama's Broke is a powerful duo that deliver a compelling performance with heart and raw energy. Although highly influenced by their Canadian roots, Lisa and Amy are based out of nowhere and everywhere.
They've brought their dark, fiery folk-without-borders sound to major festivals and DIY punk houses alike, absorbing traditions from their maritime home in Eastern Canada all the way to Ireland and Indonesia. Nowhere is the duo's art-in-motion approach more apparent than on their long-awaited sophomore record Narrow Line (May 13, 2022 on Free Dirt Records); it's the sound of nowhere in particular, yet woven with a rich synthesis of influences that knows no borders. It earned them a JUNO nomination for Traditional Roots Album of the Year 2022.
For a group defined by constant touring, it’s not surprising that the two artists that make up Mama’s Broke, Lisa Maria and Amy Lou Keeler, met on the road. As Lisa remembers it, “Amy was driving her old Mercedes from Montreal to Nova Scotia and I was looking for a ride. We spent the 17 hours in the car talking almost exclusively about music. By the time we reached Halifax we started playing together, and within a week or two became a band.
Their two strong voices blend to create haunting harmonies, while they artfully juggle fiddle, banjo, guitar and mandolin, and incorporate traditional dance and foot percussion into their performance. Their original -and often dark- compositions push the boundaries of tradition and the constraints of genre. Drawing from old-time, Quebecois, blues, punk, celtic, balkan and doom metal, they create a soundscape that is both familiar and new.
The driving force behind this band is – and has always been – the commitment to challenge borders between people, places, and traditions; while encouraging freedom of expression and community through music.
General Admission - $25.00
Doors open at 7:30/ Music at 8pm
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May 4th - Kim Richey - You have to love Kim Richey. We do. In the world of independent touring singer-songwriters that we honor, Kim may well be the poster child. She is a traveler, after all, musically, physically, emotionally. Not merely restless or rootless, it’s who she is. Willing to follow where the music leads, she’s landed in New York, Nashville, London… working with a who’s who of producers… attracting a coterie of top-shelf genre-definers… Jason Isbell, Trisha Yearwood, Chuck Prophet, Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket), Pat Sansone (Wilco)…for her critically-lauded projects… and also singing on records for Ryan Adams, Shawn Colvin, Isbell and Rodney Crowell and many others.
Part of what draws them to the dusky honey of her crystalline alto is the way she writes: to and from the soul, never flinching from the conflicts and crushing moments, yet always finding dignity and resilience. Her arc of the human heart is true. True enough that over the years as a songwriter, Kim has written No.1 hits for Radney Foster (“Nobody Wins”) and Trisha Yearwood (“Believe Me Baby”), the latter for which she was Grammy-nominated, as well as songs for Mary Chapin Carpenter, Gretchen Peters, Patty Loveless, Jamie Lawson, Brooks and Dunn, Jim Lauderdale and many more.
Over the past two decades Kim has released ten critically acclaimed albums, been listed in the ‘Top 10 Albums of 1999’ in Time Magazine for her album Glimmer, plus received 4-stars in Rolling Stone and named ‘Alt-Country Album of the Year’ in People Magazine for her album Rise. Her 2013 release Thorn In My Heart was named in year’s end best lists by No Depression, The Boston Globe and The Associated Press. She has written two #1 singles and had four others hit Top 10. Her songs have been recorded by Trisha Yearwood, Mary Chapin Capenter, James Morrison, Brooks and Dunn and many others. She has contributed backing vocals on albums by Trisha Yearwood, Ryan Adams, Shawn Colvin and Jason Isbell to name a few.
She is the real deal. A single genre has never defined her career. Her delivery can have a hint of folk, country, blues, roots, gospel… Yet, when you hear the first few notes of a Kim Richey song you know you’re in for a great ride; warm, expressive, melodic songs. Her music never disappoints.
You do have to love Kim Richey...we do!
General Admission/28.00
Doors open at 7:30/Music at 8pm
__________________________________________________May 10th-Henhouse Prowlers-The Prowler's exciting performances give audiences a sense of how much they love what they do. With over 175 shows a year, the quartet has toured over 25 countries, often going to places traditional American music has never been.
The band manages to explore their collective life experiences through songwriting and intricate instrumentation. While bluegrass is the undeniable foundation of the Prowlers music, the band manages to bend and squeeze the traditional form into a sound all their own.
General Admission- 24.00
Doors open at 7:30/Music at 8pm
Purchase tickets on Eventbrite
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May 11th - The Rusty Goat - Bringing back your favorite rock and roll and blues tunes from the 70's. Three of these boys grew up in Peninsula with high hopes of being rock stars, they were good then, they are better now! John, Jeff, Tom, Tim and Mike are the Rusty Goat! Not our usual offering at the Hall, but every now and then we can still rock it out!
General Admission - $12.00
Doors open at 7:30/Music at 8pm
Purchase Tickets on Eventbrite
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Catch us for this rare opportunity for Trey to perform solo!General Admission- 24.00
May 18th-Kristin Andreassen and Chris Eldridge - Kristin and Critter met back when their bands Uncle Earl and Punch Brothers were just getting started. Over the years, they’ve played music with some of most luminous artists of our time (Paul Simon, John Paul Jones, Emmylou Harris) and they’ve won awards (John Lennon Song Contest Grand Prize, a Grammy, Americana Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year). New parenthood has gifted this couple with more time at home, where they’ve taken to playing Kristin’s songs — both old and new — all chosen by Critter to be reimagined for two guitars, two voices, and a more finely tuned sense of “the things that matter.”
General Admission-$25.00
Doors open at 7:30/Music at 8pm
Purchase tickets on Eventbrite
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May 24th- Brent Kirby - One of the Plain Dealer's "25 Acts to Watch"
Brent Kirby is a night's stroll with a rock n' roll romantic. This does not mean Kirby's merely a smitten troubadour, or a bard for the wayward but colorful life of musicians. Though his own songs bring up those immortal topics, Kirby's romanticism is much bigger than that. His songs start with the introspective stir of strum and voice, but just like his performances, quickly move outward and embrace the listener. Kirby, who grew up in Wisconsin and has lived playing music in places as varied as Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, Milwaukee and Cleveland, has acquired a keen narrator's eye. Playing bars and clubs since his early teens, his lyrics dictate life in the moment, not as nightly grinds, but as places where dreams really come to life in gritty color.
Brent Kirby’s been called by many of his peers one of Cleveland’s hardest working musicians and his actions prove that. In 2022, Brent was voted “Best Folk” by the Cleveland Music Awards and nominated for “Best Songwriter” by the Cleveland Scene. In 2013, the “Best Singer” and also “Best Male Vocal” by the Cleveland Scene, and 2012, he was voted “Best Musician”. When he is not playing solo or with his solo band, he writes the tunes and fronts the Jack Fords, leads the monthly revival of Gram Parsons with his band The New Soft Shoe, and plays drums for Doug McKean and The Stuntmen, and the talented Cleveland holiday band, the Ohio City Singers. His 10 x 3 Songwriter showcase weekly series at the Bop Stop, has created an encouraging, vibrant original music scene.
A favorite at the G.A.R. Hall. Come spend an evening with us enjoying Brent Kirby and his music.
General Admission- 17.00
Doors open at 7:30/Music at 8pm
Purchase tickets on Eventbrite
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June 30th- Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman - First brought together by Brooklyn’s tight-knit old-time music community in 2017, Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman share a rich musical partnership. Nora is a banjo player, and has released 3 albums on Brooklyn based Jalopy Records. She has performed across the US, Europe, and Japan including on NPR's Tiny Desk and TED EDU. Stephanie is a master old-time fiddler, having recorded and toured internationally with celebrated artists such as trailblazing all-women stringband Uncle Earl, Rhiannon Giddens, Watchhouse’s Andrew Marlin, and Aoife O’Donovan.
In July 2023, Nora and Stephanie released their debut EP Lady of the Lake on Jalopy Records. The release was followed by a duo performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. Folk Radio UK.wrote that the EP "leaves you wanting more," continuing, "There is a shrewd exuberance in the way Nora and Stephanie play together on this EP, taking turns to lead and leaving plenty ofspace for each other to shine. They play with consistent flair and an audible mastery of their instruments." Nora and Stephanie previously recorded together on Nora’s 2019 album Cinnamon Tree, and have performed at such renowned venues as The Kennedy Center, RoskildeFestival in Denmark, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and Philadelphia Folk Festival.
Come help us welcome these two fine musicians to the G.A.R. Hall for the first time!
General Admission: 27.00
Doors open at 7:30/Music at 8pm
Purchase tickets on Eventbrite
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Mark your calendars for these upcoming events at the G.A.R. Hall
Tickets will go on sale soon!
May 25th- Rachel Brown and the Beatrnik Playboys
June 14th- Country Honk
June 22nd - Honey Dewdrops
More information about these shows coming soon!
FAQs
Please send all booking inquiries to karen@crookedrivercreative.com
Thanks so much to the Ohio Arts Council for their continued support of the Arts Programming at the Peninsula Foundation, including
Voices in the ValleyThanks so much to the Akron Community Foundation for their support of Arts Programming at the
G.A.R. Hall